“Cathy, I’m so sorry. Joseph’s gone.”
“No!”
“Oh Cathy, yes it’s true.” A black hearse hit Joseph and knocked him to the ground, killing him instantly. Apparently the rusted out motor underneath caught his denim jacket, carrying him an extra 50 metres over the hot asphalt, broken bottles, and garbage left on the road after the council clean up.
“Oh my God!”
Tears start to pour down Mum’s face.
“No! No!”
Mum let out a loud wail, slammed down the receiver, and fell to the floor. After rocking side to side she turned onto her right side and curled into a fetal position. She froze in place.
My brother was buried after a private memorial for family and close friends only. Our lives changed forever.“Mum, your friends are worried,” I told her a month later. “You’ve been isolating yourself. You haven’t put any makeup on and you don’t look well. And I don’t know why you don’t want me going out. Please, Mum, I want to see my friends.”
“Sorry, love, but you’re all I’ve got left.”
“Mum, will you speak to your counsellor?”
“I will.”
She kept her word. And the result was a move to another neighborhood that didn’t hold all of our family memories. We moved during Easter week.
I was surprised that my mum gave me permission to ride my bike to the gravesite to let Joseph know we moved.When I arrived at cemetery I noticed a skinny man riding a mower. He was staring at me, and as he got closer I saw that his eyes weren’t the same size. He raised his hand and motioned for me to leave.
“Get off the grass, little girl. You’re in my way.”
He picked up garden scissors and waved me away again. “Get a move on now. You hear me, don’t you, little girl?”
I steered towards the road but in my haste I lost my sense of direction and couldn’t find Joseph’s grave. I stopped and balanced myself and the bike on one foot. I heard an engine behind me. When I looked over my shoulder I saw a black hearse heading straight for me, and fast.
When he got closer I could see that he was the man who was just mowing. His hands appeared to be shaking vigorously on the steering wheel. He was bent forward as though he expected his body weight to help the vehicle go faster. Those eyes gave me chills. He stopped abruptly, and the tires threw pebbles into my skin.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I yelled at him. When I backed up, I fell onto the grass. My head barely missed the concrete curb. “Are you crazy?” I yelled again. My heart was beating so hard my chest hurt.He rolled down the window until he could lean out. “I’m coming to get you. You need to be taught a lesson, little girl. You should do what you’re told.”
With that comment the reverse lights flicked back on and the car still idled motionless. The exhaust pipe began to rev up, blowing out blue and black smoke. A massive bang came out of the car; it skidded back to where I was standing.
“What are you doing?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “You can’t see into my car, little girl. My windows are as black as my soul.”“But I can see you!” I yelled with false bravado. “You don’t scare me!”
I disentangled myself from my bike and bolted towards him. He didn’t flinch. I peered into the back of the hearse, and when my eyes returned to the driver, he had disappeared.
“Where are you?”When he reappeared, he was standing next to the hearse, holding the passenger door open. I noticed that one eye looked like it was half shut.
He mouthed, “Get in, little girl.”
“No! You’re crazy!”
“Did you not hear me, little girl? Get in now! The longer I wait for you the harder it’s going to be when I finally get you. You will have wished you had never disobeyed me in the first place.”
I tried to keep my legs from trembling but I was sure he noticed that I was frozen stiff. With my peripheral vision I tried to find an escape path, but I saw his arm reaching for me across the front hood.
“Leave me alone!” I screamed, wondering if anyone would hear me.He clawed at the air again. I leaned backwards, out of his reach. He was foaming at the mouth and I could smell his rotten breath. “Come here right now and do as you are told … or else.” The pupil in his normal eye dilated as he tried to grab me again. He pulled his arm back and growled in frustration.
“Girl, listen here. This is your last warning, so get in and do as you are told. I’m going to hurt you. You understand? You’ll regret your actions.”
My right foot was numb, and I knew I couldn’t get away on my bike; he’d have enough time to stop me. I half-ran and half-limped away as fast as I could.
The crazy man revved the engine and started coming after me. My heart was pounding, and breathing was hard.He caught up. “Where do you think you’re going, little girl? There’s no place to hide. You will never discover the secrets of this cemetery. You will never know who I really am, I have this place covered. I will get you sooner than later, and you will be mine forever.”
He came after me on foot. I tried to run faster. The bundles of flowers I passed were just blurs of color. “Ow!” I screamed aloud. Something cut my leg, and it felt like it was still there. I looked down and saw a thorn embedded in my shin, and a heavy stream of blood flowing steady, already staining the top of my sock.
“I can smell your blood, girly.”“Why are you so interested in getting me?” I yelled while still running. “Why are you so evil?”
I was drenched with sweat, and my sock was stained a bright red. I wondered if he was really the groundkeeper of this cemetery or just a crazy man who hung out here.
I lay down next to Joseph’s plaque, trying to catch my breath, but I knew I couldn’t rest for long.“Where are you, little girl? I know you’re near. I can smell your blood. I bet you got caught on Mrs. Jackson’s roses. I have a piece of your shirt too. Mmmm … Lovely. I’m going to get you. It’s only a matter of time, girly.”
I looked at my shirt and saw that the hem was ripped. I hadn’t noticed. But he did. I was leaving clues. And then he went silent. “You’ll never know what’s below the surface,” he rambled on. “I’ll make sure of that for now and forever.”I stayed low to the ground behind a thick, old tree. I could hear leaves crackling. Footsteps. It sounded like more than one person. They were coming closer.
“Lucy, what are you doing?”
“Mum?” I looked up. She was standing next to the man.
“He’s only showing me to Joseph’s gravesite. I’m lost.” “No! Mum …” I took in another lunch of air. “No!” She bent down to look closer.
“Lucy, what happened to your leg?”
Mum stood up and reached down towards me.
“Take my hand, Lucy. Let’s go get your bike.”
She didn’t believe me. I let her help me up and we walked off together. Her hand was trembling. Maybe she does believe me, I thought to myself.
I looked back over her shoulder to where the caretaker was still standing.He smirked at me. “Next time,” he mouthed.
Ends